I have updated my list. It is now my Top 11 Favorite Male Opera Singers and that is where I'm keeping it from now on. Partly it's because I took some ideas from the Nostalgia Critic and partly because I started falling for two more male singers. As always, this list has nothing to with preferences; it is simply my way of keeping track of which singers I like the best.
Here we go.
Number 11: Ildar Abdrazakov
This handsome Russian bass has performed numerous times for the Met in recent years. I saw him live for the first time on Wednesday in the encore simulcast of Borodin's Prince Igor, even though I had seen him on YouTube and heard him over the radio before then (I forgot precisely when I first heard of him). His most recent Met performances that I can remember off the top of my head are Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Henry VIII in Anna Bolena (what possessed him to do a story that clearly kriffs up the history something awful?), and the title roles of Mozart's Don Giovanni and Prince Igor. He has also performed the role of the demon Mephistopheles in various versions of the Faust story.
Number 10: Rachid Ben Abdeslam
He's a rarity in more ways than one. First off he's a countertenor, and second off he's from Morocco which is in Africa, and there are very few African opera singers. He is a handsome and amazingly talented singer whom I have only heard of within the past year. The only role that I have seen him perform is Nirenus in the Met's newest production of Handel's Giulio Cesare which was simulcasted last season. Heck, that's the only role I know of that he has performed.
Number 9: Yonghoon Lee
He's a sexy Korean tenor who has taken the world by storm with his amazing voice. For some reason he always gets this tormented look on his face when he sings. He is most famous for performing the title role of Verdi's Don Carlo and Don Jose in Bizet's Carmen, both of which he's performed at the Met (Don Carlo was his debut role for the Met back 2010). He is also known for singer Cavaradossi in Tosca and Calaf in Turandot. He comes back to the Met next year in Don Carlo. I first heard of him while browsing YouTube.
Number 8: Hyung Yun
I have seen this hot Korean baritone live thrice. He has performed for Met in the role of Manon's cousin in Massenet's Manon at the Met. But he has performed for Madison Opera as well. He debuted in '09 in the role Valentin, Marguerite's brother in Gounod's Faust (which I saw on a school field trip), Escamillo the bullfighter in Carmen (that one I didn't see), the title role in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin (view the November 2011 post for more info), and as Renato Ankarstrom in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera (see the Verdi Weekend post).
Number 7: Jonas Kaufmann
A versatile singer who has sung everything from the lyrical title role of Faust to the Wagnerian role of Siegmund in Die Walkure, there is little this dreamboat of a German tenor can't take on. I first heard of him while browsing YouTube. I have heard over the radio in the title role of Wagner's Parsifal. And I have seen live as Faust and as Siegmund. For some reason he is performing next week in the title role of Massenet's Werther, which has the most annoying romantic hero in all of nineteenth-century literature. At least he trying to do something with the character.
Number 6: Mariusz Kwiecien
This Polish barihunk is the opera world's bad boy. He is most famous for his portrayal of the notorious seducer in Don Giovanni, which he has performed at the Met several times. He (surprise, surprise), is also famous for doing productions that have him go shirtless. In addition to Don Juan, I have heard him in the role of Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor (the role in which I first heard of him), Belcore in L'Elisir d'Amore, and the title role in Eugene Onegin. In February of 2010, I had the privilege of seeing him live at Lyric Opera of Chicago as Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro.
Number 5: Piotr Beczala
He's the operatic boyfriend type. This Polish tenor's boy-next-door good looks and lyrical voice make him one of opera's most sought-after artists. I have heard him over the radio in such roles as Rodolfo in Puccini's La Boheme. I saw him Live in HD as des Grieux in Massenet's Manon, the lascivious Duke of Mantua in Verdi's Rigoletto (I first heard him do that role over the radio back in '09), and most recently as the doomed poet Vladimir Lensky in Eugene Onegin. He has also performed the role of Faust.
Number 4: David Daniels
This American countertenor is the sexy Baroque specialist. I first heard him when I was sixteen. He was singing the role of Orfeo in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice. This afternoon he sang the role of Prospero in the Met's Baroque pastiche The Enchanted Island. I saw him Live in HD in that role back 2012. I have since seen him as the title role in Handel's Giulio Cesare. Seriously, he should come to Madison and perform.
Number 3: Kyle Ketelsen
The local guy. Yes, this fantabulous bass-baritone lives in my own hometown of Sun Prairie Wisconsin. I first saw him back in '08 when performed the role of Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Overture center. The following year (my senior year), he came to my high school to do a master class. Then the year after that, I saw him live at Lyric Opera as the title character in Le Nozze di Figaro. The icing on the cake? Because my mom had won the tickets as a prize, part of that included a backstage tour of the Lyric Opera, including getting to meet Mr. Ketelsen in person!
Number 2: Dmitri Hvorostovsky
A Russian baritone with huge female following, this guy is opera's silver fox. I first heard him over the radio when I was fifteen. It was my first exposure to not only Eugene Onegin, but also my first exposure to Russian opera period. I have since heard him in the roles of King don Carlo in Ernani, M. Germont in La Traviata, Renato Ankarstrom in Un Ballo in Maschera, Rodrigo de Posa in Don Carlo, and as the title role in Rigoletto. I would love to have him come and perform for Madison.
Number 1: Juan Diego Florez
The bel-canto specialist. This hot Peruvian tenor not only contributed to my love of opera, he also sparked my Peru obsession. Unlike the others on this list, I first heard of this singer while watching a biographical documentary on the life of Luciano Pavarotti. This guy was talking about singing the nine High C's in Donizetti's La Fille du Regiment, which I later saw simulcasted in '08 (he sang the male lead). I have since heard him as Nemorino in L'Elisir d"Amore, and I have a copy of his performance as Ernesto in Don Pasqaule. I have also had the immense pleasure of seeing him live in HD again as the lady-killing Count in Rossini's Le Comte Ory. He will be singing Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola at the end of this season. I have to go see it.
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